Page 1676…
I had a very hard time doing this page for many reasons.
First off… Nastajia dies.
Secondly… How do you show this without being bloody? Gruesome?
I don’t know. I hope this works visually.
I had a very hard time doing this page for many reasons.
Yeep. Definately didn’t see that one coming…
And yeah, the scene does work, even without the blood/gore.
oh ….. no………………..
*stunned silence*
Oh man…my wife is going to be SO mad at you, Scott. Donna’s gonna hear about this. 😛
…I am just going to hope that the nightmare realm specialises in serving up some of that “nightmare”.
Please be an illusion, please be an illusion…..*hides eyes!*
… I have no words. I will try sticking with the rest of the story, but I have to say, whenever a character I really like in a story is taken out, I find it hard to come back to the story itself. :/ A character flaw of mine.
omg Nastajia!! I’m so sorry for suggesting they should attack you more just to take away Alex’s support. I’m so sorry!!!!! T_T
There are 8 more pages in this chapter.
Please see it through to the end of this chapter.
Noo! You killing her off?! >< Whyy -flails-
It’s an illusion… a dream.
On one hand, I understand Pam completely. Nastajia and Alex were almost… the definition of The Dreamland Chronicles. One of those “are you sure there’s still a story if she’s gone?” kind of character. You may not have meant it that way, but you did such a great job familiarizing us with her character that we forgot she’s not the sole reason behind the story.
On the other hand, though, my respect for you and your story just went way up. It takes a lot of nerve for you to allow a main character to die, especially in a children’s comic medium. And the story just upgraded from “some kid’s fairytale story I follow, if I’m too busy I’ll just come back in a few months and they’ll still be happily doing their thing” to “this is serious. The monsters mean business. The author mean business. I want to know what happens to them as it happens.”
So yeah, props to you.
Nancy and I are gone.
{rocks} just a bad dream…just a bad dream….
on another note, i think you handled the page well without the gore. Though i’m generally against using sound effects, the red letters get the message across.
Do the nightmare creatures have a hive mind?
yeah, i check Dreamland Chronicles everyday anyway, but i get very excited when authors take big risks like this. I can’t wait to see how Alex deals!
*eyes narrow*
Scott, have you been watching Game of Thrones? :p
They’re in the nightmare realms… so this is the projection of the worst nightmare that Alex could have. And it is made to throw off the powers of Alex.
Besides, I have to tell you, Scott, that the way you visualized this moment is powerful enough even without gore. I think that is perfect for adults and children alike. Good work.
I rarely comment here, and I am with the previous poster who says respect has risen for the comic with a serious dramatic turn. I have a different thought about Alex now; to my mind even with the fighting and other significant events, he’s seemed somewhat lightweight to me, prone to minimizing risks and his role in resolving problems–now he will have no more choice about who he is responsible for and how much. Nastajia handled so much for them both.
The bite of the monster on Natasja is unclear, you can’t see clearly the teeth doing their work. Sad that Natasja dies though. But perhaps she can survive in the “real world” ?
okay, Scott, problem not related to plot: I have this subscribed on my RSS feed reader, so when it pops up on my list, I get a tiny picture and then all your text comments in normal size. Which means you just basically spoiled the page before I could even open it up. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but this is by far the most annoying time. 🙁
Please adjust your RSS feed settings to just direct to the site here without display. Seriously, you will drive more traffic here directly (as opposed to people just reading the feed and not stopping by) and you will avoid this problem in the future.
I’m surprised everyone goes “oh that’s clearly an illusion” last page, to “OH NOES NASTAJIA IS DEAD” this page.
Anyways, yeah pretty sure this is an illusion. If it’s not, the next 8 pages will say so. Otherwise, I don’t really believe it, and the page is actually not all that shocking because of it. Sounds like great… nightmare material though? Doesn’t it? 😀
I hope this is like others are saying, a nightmare vision created by these beasts to weaken Alex. Thank goodness this is not a friday page but I fear that tomorrow’s page could be even worse.
Thanks Charles!
I’ll see if I can do that!
Same thing happened on the Facebook post, btw.
what if… Nastajia is Elvish for “Aerith” ?
*evil grin*
I hate to be a pill, but… why on Earth would the princess not even be wearing full armor during a war? I didn’t mention it before since I figured it was a stylistic touch, but this scene kind of highlights how wrong it is for her to be baring so much skin, even if it is just a vision.
I mean, I love my body too, but some things seem out of character for a strategic ruling princess.
Apparently nobody informed these beasts that the only motivator that comes close to being as powerful as Love is Revenge. They are in for a world of hurt and Alex is going to be the delivery boy.
I think you can’t see the teeth because they’re behind the necklace.
Pam, I think you may be better off reserving your standard reaction for the end on this one. I’m with the folks who are thinking that this is an illusion generated by the baddies (since they are so good at creating your nightmares), so it’s still possible that Nastajia isn’t really dead. She’s just visually dead. 😛
Oh my – why do I have an inkling that this is not the end of it?
Besides, no need for overdone gore. The hints you deliver are way enough, the rest gotta happen inside readers head.
Mebbe now we gonna see alex in full wrath, eh? Unleashed power ftw.
I think you did a fantastic job with this scene Scott. It is powerful and vividly shows what you were trying to convey…and without a single splash of gore.
I would like to point out though that while I wasn’t hunting for the moster’s teeth like medhi (comment above), I didn’t notice that the thing blocking his teeth from view was Nastajia’s necklace. For whatever reason, my brain interpreted that little strip of orangey-red as the beastie’s gums (or the inside of his lip or something in his mouth). Even after seeing someone say “the teeth are behind her nacklace,” it took me a good while of staring at the frame to process that it was actually her nacklace.
Anyhow, super excited about where this is going!!!
ere I forget (sorry for double post) … the Hands of the True King … oh, whatever Scott has in mind gonna happen.
When the author talks about the death of a major character, I tend to take their words at face value.
Oh, I’m not dropping off immediately. It’s just a pet peeve of mine that people only regard a story as good when someone dies when death turns me off.
By the way, consider it a compliment that people are upset about what’s happening to Nastajia. You’ve done a good job of drawing us in. She really is my favorite character!
Well, that I didn’t see coming either. I still find it strange that Nastajia just let it all happen without really fighting back. She has a bow, she has fists; she should be punching those creatures in the head before they get a hand on her like that – or then she should be somehow incapacitated in the last page. *rantrant*
Who said she was dead? at this point, she is just hurt… Badly, but still alive. so it really could go any way.
With that said, I am truly torn here. on one hand I want this story to live up to its fantasy roots where it all works out…
…but on the other hand, her death while tragic and a big blow to everyone, would really be a huge blast of realism that would just blow me away story wise!
it all your fault!! LOL 😛
Yea, that’s why I turned off the RSS feed awhile ago.
Scott, if you can turn it off, let us know!
You DID read Scott’s blurb right below the page before the blog comments, didn’t you? 😛
-Gasps-
Noooooooooooooooo!!!!
You know, i thought this, almost immediately after posting my comment. Scott, don’t take after George RR martin, only bad things can happen!
Note to Nightmare Realm.
Never put anyone in a position where they have nothing to lose. By doing so you risk turning them into the most deadly foe you could ever have.
I THINK I did.
Please let me know if it works tomorrow.
I promise. I’ve never seen Game of Thrones…
On the same boat here, it wasn’t a surprise after Facebook
I just want to say, I absolutely love the blood-curdling “!!!EEE!” and the bone-crunching “CHOMP!” These effects really sell the moment!
If I remember correctly, he needs to be in control of his emotions, at least to a certain degree. I’m thinking rage will break that.
I do however would like to see revenge make him go Berserk on them and kill them all.
A good story teller, just like a magician, must often rely on the technique of misdirection to keep the story interesting. So I probably won’t be taking two simple words from Scott’s blurb at face value, and I won’t be giving up hope until the comic’s done and the story’s over.
Holy duck with a typewriter.
What.
Nononononononononononono.
Maybe it’s not her? *crosses fingers*
Oh gosh. if it *is* her… what are her parents going to say?
Nah. Can’t be dead. That’s got to be a nightmare version of her or something. They’re playing off of Alex’s greatest fears. But the elf princess would be too good of leverage to just kill off. Plus, this is a kids’ story – you don’t kill off the princess in a kids’ story.
Sorry, Scott. not buying it ay-tall.
Honestly? I think it would just weaken the story if she’s actually dead.
I’m so upset I nearly didn’t click on any of the adverts for you.
If “She’s really most sincerely dead” I’m gone, forever! And I don’t think I’ll be leaving by myself … 🙁
D:
. . . Actually, I wish I could feel more. Nastajia has been harder for me to relate to than any of the other characters for some reason, but this is still shocking! I’m curious what is in store for the rest of the story more than ever! TWIST!! D: D:
Aha, but did you read the books (which have been going waaaaaaay longer than the tv series)?
I get the comic via RSS feed and your commentary of the page spoilt it, I saw the words before the comic image loaded… that kind of sucked.
I think I just died a little inside scott.
I’m surprised that many readers of the comic feel a true shock for the “death” of Nastajia.
That means Scott is doing a GREAT job in turning us into a devoted audience with a major link to the story and the characters he created.
But i.m.h.o. I think the reactions are way too excessive.
We are talking about a fantasy story with major plots, twist, escalations etc.
Yes it is a “kid’s story” but through the 1676 pages the story is mature enough to withstand a “death” of a main character.
Concerning the abovemetioned “death”:
Have we noticed that Alex and Nastajia are in the realm of Nightmares?
What is the meaning of a nightmare?
Remember what Nastajia told Alex some pages ago, when Alex was really scared when he was observing the surroundings?
Nastajia was immune to Nightmare Realm “aura of fear” because it is created in order to create fear to humans.
Can’t you see what are the nightmare creatures doing now?
They try to make Alex feel fear in order to weaken him and manipulate him.
I find obvious that this “death of Nastajia” is a nightmare projection of Alex’ worst fear come true.
They admit it in their words: “we wonder…who will the human fare when we take its totem from it?”
Remember how Nastajia appeared all of a sudden in the middle of the fight without any evil creature around her?
Remember how we last left Nastajia? The creatures was flying away with her but she was trying to help Alex fusing her bow.
It is clear to me what is going on.
I am hoping it’s just misdirection and not a cheap way to get Alex’s brother on the throne because Alex is too brokenhearted to want to dream again.
Totem or real deal I think we’re fixin’ to see that ‘splosion.
Scott,do you remember when DC used an 800-number for Batman:A Death in the Family to decide the fate of the Jason Todd Robin? One is to let him live and the other is to have him die! I hope you won’t do that for Nastajia’s fate! LET HER LIVE!!!!!
P.S.
The readers allowed Jason Todd to die!
“First off… Nastajia dies.” <—- Ooooh, snap!
Well. That was… a… surprise. I don’t know if that was really Nas or not, but if the shock makes Alex wake up… O_O
The NR beasties evidently haven’t dealt with adult humans too much before, or they’d be aware of the danger of doing something that might unleash rage, hate, and the demand for revenge. And they wouldn’t have done this.
i am so glad i read all the comments today. after seeing this page and reading scott’s comments, i was pretty freaked out and i have to go on working today. chill, chilled out, ok – maybe it’s just a nightmare. it was helpful to read all of your words.
Yup, just look at that FACE! Gulity!!!!! >_<
Ahem, seriously though I'm in shock, my gut tells me (as others are theorizing) that it's the Nightmare Realm… well, living up to their name, so to speak.:P
But still, very dramatic page, you really nailed the tension of the scene without it being too bloody Scott, something Hollywood fails at so very often (either going so far with the gore it looks comical, heh, or neutering it to the point where the drama is gone). Good job!!!
Now to see how Alex reacts, he'll either implode or explode in hot fury, I'm rooting for the latter. ^_^
Sorry.
Hmmm. It’s been nice knowing you, nightmare folks. Illusion or not, peace talks are over.
(Hmmm again. Are we going to finally meet Mr. Carter the Dad when Alex cuts his way through the minions? Some faint scent of ‘I am your father, Luke’ has been around for quite a while already.)
Can’t be the real ‘Staj – she kicks too much but to not put up a struggle at all.
I’m betting on nightmare illusion.
Oh man. First Kin in Goblins gets mortally wounded, and now Nastajia here.
::crosses fingers and hopes for the best::
Yeah, really I thought this was obvious. But we’ll see, I guess.
This, I think, will be the last mistake those Nightmare Realmers ever make.
Guys, she’s not actually dead. You’re at a 10, take it down to a 2. Nightmare Realm, remember?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
See here’s my Interpretation.
Alex needs to realize that this could happen at any time. I think the reason Scott put this in, is to show that Alex can be the true King of Dreamland. By honoring her life by coming to terms with her death.
I have to admit that I saw Alex’s “Nooooo!” shouted by Luke Skywalker as he did to Darth Vader’s big reveal.
It is shocking, but I can see growth coming out of it.
..and Nastajia’s last words were “Yeeee!”
…yeah, the real Nastajia’s fine, folks.
I do not know for certain, but if I was in armor that made me invulnerable, with a weapon that could not be stopped and someone I loved was killed in front of me with all the responsible individuals around, … well lets just say the king of the nightmare realms would be praying he could somehow break me out of the berserker and show the death was an illusion.
Based on the last few pages, we have Alex at power level and protection level about like a battened down M1 Abrams level versus regular people hoping they can swarm over and stop by shear number. And the Abrams just keeps rolling. Now instead of letting it just drive on out of the area, they have upset the driver and it is about to start firing its guns. I doubt anyone or anything will be left of the nightmare realm.
Or he could just stand there in shock, but how much damage can hundreds of people pounding on a Abrams do when just using their fists. Not even the dragon could harm Alex while he was in his armor.
No, I am sure the real Natajia is alive, but Alex might believe his eyes.
I’m trying to figure out why Nastajia is holding her magic bow while she is supposed to be a prisoner. One would think the Nightmare Realm would prefer its prisoners to be disarmed. That does make me somewhat suspicious that this is a Nightmare Realm stratagem of some kind, since witnessing the brutal death of a close friend or loved one can be someone’s “worst nightmare.”
I can think of several possible reactions by Alex – none of which include giving up.
All I can say is…Stay tuned for tomorrow’s exciting episode!
I’m not sure whether to believe this or not. There are a lot of things making me doubt it—most of the stuff people have been saying, plus little things like on page 1664 they said to bring Nastajia to “the chimera,” and that she would die “slowly and painfully”—but at the same time… hard to say until we see the rest of this, I guess. XD;
*In best Emperor Palpatine voice…*
Good… Good… I can feel your anger. They are defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike them down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete…
If Alex goes ballistic, the others won’t have to make peace with the Nightmare Realm, just bring marshmallows to toast over the smoking crater.
A slight variation of an old song comes to mind…
“All stopped to gaze upon him with a smile of victory, before sending him into the ground; but Odin alone would chose the day he entered Valhalla, instead he sent thunder and lightning to strike the ground filling him with the one gift every warrior live in hope for. The berserker rage; now filled with that strength the power of a thousand men was given him, this time when he took up the attack men fell not by tens but by hundreds by thousands. And when the smoke did clear he stood…”
I’m sensing a heck of a cliff hanger!!!
Looks good Scott. You are telling a great story here.
No. I read the Hobbit. Does that count?
Thank you all for your wonderful comments!
I struggled a lot with this page. Hope you enjoy tomorrow’s and the rest of the chapter over the next week.
Scott
Thank YOU for all the time you’ve put into this webcomic, Scott!
First off, yes, Nas was being carried off.
Second, this feels like Rurouni Kenshin, when they faked Kaoru’s death.
As an aside to Scott, I find this incredible. You sir, just won a bunch of respect from me, and I bet a lot of people who crave good writing. I think you’ll find most of the people who are the most outspoken against this scene are not necessarily your main fanbase. I definitely think you got a bunch of raised eyebrows with head nods for this decision. 😀
I’m psyched to see more! 😀
I feel like Marty in the first Back To The Future:
“Nooooooo! BASTARDS!!”
I’m strongly suspicious of your idea that this is how Alex gives up dreamland. I hope not, but if it is… eh.
Provided you did kill her off and that wasn’t an illusion; The death gurgle of Nastajia reminds me of the cartoon yelp of Yosemite Sam and the sound effect CHOMP didn’t help matters either; I giggled. But, all in all, if she is gone, it would be right to do it now when there are only 3 more chapters to go.
Yeah…. have a couple authors I no longer read cause they have a habit of getting you tied up in the main character then killing them off. One guy, after the second or third book in a row that he did that, I just never looked at his stuff again.
Awesome plot twist. I think it’s safe to say you have our attention. I’ll file myself with the I hope it’s an illusion crowd on this one as it seems odd to me that they’d capture her and fly away with her then she just appears near him on the street.
That all stated, I wonder which path Alex will take, despair or Hulk-like rage.
First off…whoa.
Second off…wow.
Whether or not that is an illusion, you do a very good job of showing that scene.
I’m hoping for an illusion BTW.
As for the next page. We could see Alex collapse and fail. And in some ways that would be a very interesting story. Many writers would do that. It would make the next time in the story much darker, as Alex comes to terms with his failure. Or maybe as he gives up altogether. With a possibility of redemption in the future after he gets over the freshest elements of his fall.
But if I were a betting man, I think we might see something different. Something akin to Super Saiyan Alex going berserk on the Nightmare Beasts. Imagine if you will, Alex’s helmet “shinking” up so all we see his eyes, blazing in fury. And then he starts to move. A single panel, zoomed out, either showing him in various locations as he punches things, moving across, each of “him” transparent to show that he WAS there, with the later ones being more and more solid. Showing Nightmare beasts flung away from him like trash.
Finishing with a closeup of his helmet as he charges one last Nightmare Beast.
Alternatively, show the Nightmare Beasts running, screaming about how bright is rage is.
Lots of possibilities here. And I think we’ll see some clubbering. Whoever does the clubbering though, this hits well. Good job.
Speechless!!
Welcome to the fantasy genre. Female armour is pretty much only decorative.
Well, this IS the Nightmare realm.
same thoughts here
Well… sh*t.
“And, as Alexander slaughtered his way through the last of the Nightmare Realm’s ranks, they realised that they’d made a serious strategic error and rather misplayed their hand.
But with the werewolf’s curse running through her, Nastajia went on to make a recovery of sorts, and Alexander soon learned to accept her transformation. With neck scratches and belly rubs aplenty, they lived happily ever after.”
My guess, she’s not dead. It’s an illusion of some kind. Scott is referring to the act of drawing Nastajia dead as being hard.
Why?
Cause so far, I know a few things about the character. 1. She’s badass. 2. She’s badass and has a temper
There wouldn’t be panels of Nas standing around doing nothing. While dozens of them were pulling her away she managed to get off shots to help Alex. There’s a panel where there are no Nightmare beasts near her and she’s just calling out to him. If that were her, I’d imagine the staircase would be littered with bodies filled with arrows and her knocking another.
Lastly, she screamed Eeee? o.0? Nightmares might do a good visual impression but that doesn’t sound like the Nas I’ve been reading about.
Lastly, if that was really her, I’d drop the webcomic here and now. Character death can be useful as a literary tool. It can be dramatic and heart wrenching and touching and make for memorable moments. But in this story, everything I’ve read up until this point has been, for lack of a better term, hopeful. There’s more I could say about a common trope in comic books but I respect the creators of this Webcomic too much to believe that -that- is where this chapter is heading. I feel kind of mean even mentioning it to be honest, so apologies there guys.
Ok…that made me laugh. I love it…:)
I am hoping this means that at some point Alex gets to meet Nastajia in real life so they can be together always. I will not abandon dreamland at this time.
Oh, these guys are none too bright. The only thing more formidable than a man fighting for love is a man fighting for revenge. They are so screwed.
You’re right… I do look awfully guilty ^^;;
And I root for imploding.. ‘cuz in principle I just find imploding to be a lot more fascinating than exploding. (I hope I am not guilty again of causing our other main character to implode D:)
Ruh Roh, Raggie.
Gooooooooood
What the Heck?!?
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!